Friday, July 4, 2014

What Could Have Been: The Tale of an ASME Intern

Ding!

The large, squishy softball soared through the air like a hand-drawn parabola on my 9th grade geometry test. Its descent was in line to end perfectly in the right fielder's glove, but just when there should have been the thwack sound of a caught ball, there was more of a ...

Plop.

The ball bounced off the worn-out glove and onto the ground. Three husky men trotted around the bases, stomping on home plate as they reached their destination and celebrating with what seemed like an excessive amount of high fives.

We held a lead heading into the final inning, but an inevitable string of mishaps led to a seven-run inning for the opposing team, which seemed to be composed of former Minor League Baseball players rather than employees of a New York publishing company. It was too good to be true. We were living on a prayer, really. But I can't help but think about what could have been.

Our captain looked deflated, but it was the team's greatest triumph of the year—almost winning. And that golden almost is thanks to a couple of interns and the ASME Magazine Internship Program, of course.

The editorial intern at Outdoor Life and I pumped new life into that band of mostly uncoordinated journalists. My mistakes were less-than-costly and the ground balls I hit were speedy. The pop outs I hit were just a few dozen yards away from stand-up doubles. The other intern's home run helped, too.

We played as a team and only lost by six measly runs.

It could be the greatest contribution an ASME intern has ever made at his or her respective publication. But it is the greatest contribution.

Nevermind the workshops ASME held to help each intern prepare for the rigors of a full-time internship and life in the city. Nevermind the writing and editing assignments my editor at Field & Stream has given me, and the helpful, focused insight he's provided along the way. Nevermind any of the bylines and masthead listings my fellow interns have worked to achieve. And you can forget about the highly esteemed ASME alumni who have become editors-in-chief.

The ASME program and I were paired together for one purpose—athletic mediocrity.

I can't get that scene out of my head. It haunts me. For a moment, as the ball hung in the air, there was a chance to win.